Louisiana AG orders investigation after New Year’s Day massacre as New Orleans gets heightened security status for Mardi Gras

CNN — As New Orleans kicks off its extravagant Carnival season this week, Louisiana is launching a new investigation into the New Year’s Day massacre that killed 14 people while the city will get more federal resources to help prevent another horrific attack. State Attorney General Liz Murrill has ordered the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation “to open a full review of security plans from New Year’s Eve and the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans,” her office said in a statement Monday. The difficulties securing Mardi Gras vs. the Super Bowl Unlike a fixed stadium, Mardi Gras takes place “on multiple streets, and it’s a moving parade,” former New Orleans Police Superintendent Michael Harrison told CNN. “Every hotel that hosts people coming into New Orleans for the Super Bowl is a potential target – just like the Superdome is, just like Bourbon Street is.” New details emerge about a report warning about vehicle attacks in New Orleans Parts of a 2019 report from a security consulting firm noted the risk of vehicular attacks in New Orleans’ French Quarter and urged the city to upgrade safety barriers. Jeff Landry declared a state of emergency shortly after the New Year’s Day massacre, saying the state would allow New Orleans to deploy additional resources as it prepares to see “hundreds of thousands of visitors in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras.” “Extensive coordination and security measures are necessary to secure areas around the events and ensure public safety from the threats associated with these events,” he wrote.